Nectar of the Tsars

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I was fortunate enough to have been invited to a dinner tonight featuring wines I had been curious about for years.  Around 10 years ago, one of the London brokers I actively dealt with sent around a list of wines from Massandra, and touted it as the "wine of the tsars".  Well, yes and no.  Initially Prince Lev Sergeyevich Golitsyn set up his own winery in Crimea, and later on he became the winemaker at Tsar Nicholas II's winery nearby at Massandra.  It wasn't until years after the revolution that the wineries - now under state control - were consolidated into the Massandra of today.

I regret not buying from the London broker 10 years ago, when the wine list was full of old gems and prices were cheap.  These days the same broker's list is largely depleted, and I have to get them from auction houses like Bonham's, who hosted the dinner and is featuring a small parcel of the wines in their upcoming auction.  Well, better late than never I guess...

The dinner tonight was held at West Villa (西苑), a decent restaurant with a reputation for delivering value for money.  I haven't been here for a long, long time, so it was good to come check out the food…

Snacks:
BBQ pork (大哥叉燒) - this place is famous for their char siu, so naturally I had high expectations.  It came in a large and thick cut, with just a little bit of fat.  The whole piece of pork was extremely tender and juicy, and taste-wise it was pretty decent.
Cloud fungus in vinegar (陳醋雲耳)
Roasted foie gras sausage (吊燒鵝肝腸)

Double-boiled conch soup with yam and wolfberry (淮杞燉螺頭湯) - very nice.  My bowl was completely clear… didn't even get a single half of apricot kernel (南北杏)…

Steamed Alaskan crab with Shaoxing wine (花雕蒸阿拉斯加蟹) - this is usually done with flower crabs or other more "local" varieties, so this version is a little interesting.  The sauce here was pretty thick, and we all wanted some noodles to pick it up.  I resorted to drinking it with a spoon, while my neighbor wished the waitress hadn't taken his plate away so quickly…

Stir-fried razor clam and kale with black truffle paste (黑松露醬蘭度炒聖旨皇) - this was OK, and the black truffle sauce added some fragrance.

Brown marbled grouper (黃皮老虎斑): that's twice I've had a fish done two-ways in the last week...

Steam meat in ancient way (古法蒸球) - I could taste the dried mandarin peel here.  With black fungus and Chinese parsley.

Stewed belly and head with roast pork and beancurd sheet (枝竹火腩蒸頭腩) - this wasn't bad.

Roasted salty chicken (古法鹽焗雞) - hmmm… methinks the Chinese translation is a little off… Isn't it "salt-baked" instead of "salty"?!  Anyway… poor lil' me didn't get any of the yummy skin, and just got the meat instead.  Oh well.  That's what happens when you split a chicken 14 ways…

Quick-boiled flowering Chinese cabbage (大哥灼菜心遠) - very delish, actually…

Rice in soup with shredded seafood (海鮮粒泡貴妃飯) - very yummy.  Diced seafood such as scallops, shrimps….etc. lent their flavors, while the rice crispies we sprinkled on top added a stronger flavor as well as a different texture.  If only I could have taken another bowl!

Deep-fried curls - these were soooo good, especially with the sprinkle of sugar and peanut powder on top.  Couldn't resist having a couple…

Baked almond custard bun (雪影杏汁包) - pretty damn good, but one was enough - not that there was a spare one I could have swiped, anyway…

And now… onto the wines - which were the reason that I came to dinner…

1955 Massandra Collection Sherry - nutty, raisins, plum, toasty and dates.  Beautiful nose.  Dry on mid-palate, with 4% residual sugar.  Made with a solera system and a blend of Sercial, Verdelho and Albariño.

1945 Massandra Collection South Coast Red Port - savory nose of preserved plums (話梅), mineral, medjool dates, apricot.  The last few drops in the glass even showed a little sweet potato notes.  Sweet on the palate and slightly tart on the finish, with 10% residual sugar.  A blend of grapes such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Saperavi and Mourvedre.

2010 Pieropan Calvarino - white peach, very floral with white flowers, a hint of flint.  Very refreshing.

2008 Vietti Barolo Castiglione - a little bit of pine, forest.  Really tannic on the palate and not enjoyable.

2006 Argentiera Giorgio Bartholomäus - very ripe, a bit cooked, stewed prunes and a little smoky.  Not bad.

1989 Massandra Collection South Coast White Muscat - literally smells and tastes like honey, almost like dissolving manuka honey in water.  A little bit nutty with tangerine.  VERY sweet, with 20% residual sugar.

We all agreed that the Sherry drank beautifully and worked very well with the food tonight.  This wouldn't be a surprise to some, because the oxidized nature of Sherry is actually similar to Chinese yellow wines (黃酒) like Shaoxing wine (紹興酒).

I'm so glad I finally got a chance to taste the Massandra wines!  Many thanks to Bonham's for this opportunity.

The Wommer and I decided we needed more drinks, so we walked a few blocks over to pay Hidome-san at b.a.r. Executive Bar a visit.  I was turned away on an earlier visit when the place was packed, and I very much looked forward to watching Hidome-san in action again.  Of course, I was coming tonight for the fruit cocktails, even though the Whisky collection here is pretty impressive...

The large, round Nansui pears (南水梨) from Nagano (長野) looked really good, so I asked for that to be made into a cocktail.  Rum was then chosen as the base.  The Wommer made fun of my girlie-looking long drink, but my eyes lit up with my first sip.  The sweet and ripe flavors of the pear could not have been tastier.  What an awesome drink!

I actually thought about using up the other pear for my second drink, but decided to try something a little different.  Japanese grapes are always good, and these New Pione (ニューピオーネ) from Okayama (岡山) were pretty good.  A cross between Kyoho (巨峰) and Cannon Hall Muscat, the flavors here aren't as intense as Kyoho.  As usual this was paired with white wine.

This was a good way to finish up the evening, and I'll be back for more fruit juice...